The Darby and Joan Club celebrations were soon followed up by a well attended torchlight procession around the village which began at the vicarage and ended at the village hall. Many people representing different village organisations attended in fancy dress. An organ mounted on a van playing Christmas carols and a sleigh with Father Christmas followed by hoards of village children proved to be very popular. Afterwards, in the village hall, stalls sold various types of produce and sideshows took place. Many village clubs participated in this with Young Wives members Mrs. Bishop and Mrs. Ray from Horsham Lane winning the fancy dress competition with their entry ‘A mother and baby.’ The event, organised by the parish council, was held in aid of the ‘Village Hall Fund’ and proved to be a great success.
The Women’s Institute made sure that they didn’t miss out on the festive spirit when they invited the church choir to perform carols at their Annual General Meeting and had a musical end to the evening. Before this the election of new committee members took place with Mrs. Burrows elected president, Mrs. Daniel vice president, Mrs. Jones secretary and Mrs. Thompson treasurer. The new committee consisted of Mrs. Davis, Mrs. Pepperill, Mrs. Griffin, Mrs. Nelson, Mrs. Porter, Mrs. Turner and Miss. South.
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David Wood. |
On December 28th the final Christmas celebration took place with a Christmas concert in the village hall. A wide variety of village organisations participated in a musical event that raised money for the ‘Freedom from Hunger Fund’ and new curtains for the village hall.
During an evening service the church suffered a power cut and candles and torches had to be used for the event to be completed. This became another example to back up residents’ complaints to the parish council about the poor quality electricity supply to the village discussed at the monthly council meeting. Another problem occurred for the church when organist Mr. Wheeler resigned but this was soon resolved when Mrs. Bodley-Scott from Wallbridge Lane offered to help out until an alternative could be found. The recently formed Girl Guides group also had a leadership problem as vicar’s wife Mrs. Bradshaw continued to run them on a temporary basis although Mrs. Olive Couling from Crosier Court volunteered to be lieutenant to take some pressure off.
The only Christmas wedding involved Diana Naylor from The Street with Roger Gilbert from Rochester along with the baptism of Caroline Casey from Crosier Court. This ended an entertaining month in the village before a prolonged freezing cold spell with heavy snowfall set in on Boxing Day and lasted until March.
About David:
David Wood was born and raised in Upchurch and is able to write from personal experience about many people and aspects of the village and of changes that have taken place over the years making ‘Memories of Upchurch’ a very readable book and a detailed historical study of the village. David's book ‘Memories of Upchurch’ is available direct from David on: david3702001@yahoo.co.uk or from us here at Upchurch Matters.
price £12 + p+p £2.
David Wood
space
David Wood was born and raised in Upchurch and is able to write from personal experience about many people and aspects of the village and of changes that have taken place over the years making ‘Memories of Upchurch’ a very readable book and a detailed historical study of the village. David's book ‘Memories of Upchurch’ is available direct from David on: david3702001@yahoo.co.uk or from us here at Upchurch Matters.
price £12 + p+p £2.
David Wood
space
